Survival is not a Game
by DarkReaper3232
Summary: After a night of wild partying, a group of gamers wake up to the zombie apocalypse. With no time to waste, they must learn how to survive. Rated M for strong language & violence, and some sexual content. (Inspired by Dead Rising and The Walking Dead. No direct ties to the show, games, characters or locations.)
1. It's All Fun and Games

**Chapter 1**

**It's All Fun and Games…**

"God dammit Justin! I said cover me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was supposed to let my ass get shot to hell and save you. You got a fuckin respawn!"

"Mikey, where's the damn sniper?"

"Uh… Huh? What? Emma was distracting me…"

_**Victory!**_

"What the fuck? We won?" Justin shouted.

"You can thank us later, boys." Kiley replied, with a smirk.

We all turned around to see her and Amy high-five.

"You go girl!" Amy shouted.

Giving an aggravated sigh, I took my headset off and lowered my head.

"They carried us again…" Eric sighed. I merely nodded my head.

"Well if _someone_ wasn't sexting his girl…" Justin said, looking to Mikey. "We may have done better!"

Mikey was too busy typing on his phone to notice what was going on. I got up and smacked his headset off his head.

"What the fuck, James?" he said, angrily.

"Leave the sexy time with Emma for when we are NOT getting our asses handed to us." I replied.

"But we won, didn't we?" Mikey asked. I put my face in my hand and walked back to my chair and slumped back in it.

"Just face it. You guys would've lost if it wasn't for us." Kiley teased us. I raised a middle finger to her. She laughed at me, so did Amy.

"I need to play for real now. No more half-assing the fight." I said, spinning my chair around to face my TV.

"You do realize what time it is, right?" Amy asked me. I looked down at my watch.

"Damn... I do now. We gotta finish today and get ready for tonight. EJ, Ashley and Victor are coming in to town." I replied.

"PAR-TA- OWW!" Mikey shouted. He threw his hands up in the air. Problem was, he still had his controller in his hand, which still had its cord attached, which wacked him in the face. We all responded with laughter. He rubbed his head and grumbled.

"Aww, poor wittle Mikey hurt?" Eric teased. More laughter followed.

"Emma will make it feel better." Mikey replied.

"By feel better, you mean she'll suck your dick till you can't think." Justin commented.

Kitty and Amy turned to look at each other and said, "SLUUUUT!"

Mikey shrugged, packed his system and gear and got ready to leave. We all did the same. We made it up the stairs from the basement of Eric's house. We always have a game night on weekends at one of our houses. Eric's is good, but Justin has the best place for our equipment. He turned his small separate garage into a man-cave style room. It was full of TVs and outlets for us all.

"I'll see youse guys tonight. Gonna bring some drinks and food." Justin shouted, getting into his car.

"We all are gonna bring something, right?" I asked. Eric nodded.

"At least I know I am." He said.

"We will too." Amy responded. Kiley nodded as well.

"Thanks again Eric. We'll see ya tonight." I shouted. He waved at us. Kitty got in Amy's car and they drove off.

"I guess you're riding with me. Huh, Mikey?" I asked. He was too busy texting Emma, go figure. I walked over and snapped my fingers in his face.

"Huh?" He said with a stupid look on his face. I sighed and shook my head.

"Am I dropping you off at your place or Emma's? I asked again.

"Emma's house. Me and her are gonna get..."

"WHOA buddy! I don't wanna know." I stopped him. "Let's go." I motioned.

We got in my car and headed to his girl's house. We jammed out to some metal while driving the way there. After a short drive, I dropped him off at Emma's. I've never seen this girl or know much about her. But I do know that, from what Justin has said, she's pretty easy… if ya know what I mean…

000

"3…2…1…TIME!" I said, looking at my watch. I took off my gloves and walked into the boss' office.

"I'm out'a here, boss." I said, grabbing my check.

"Party tonight?" He asked.

"Yes sir. I got some friends coming into town for the weekend. Going to have just a small party with them." I replied, wiping the grease off my face.

"Have fun, James. Don't get into trouble." Boss said.

"Don't worry sir. I won't. Take care!" I said, walking out the door. I walked to my car and headed home. I needed to do a few things before I got Victor at the airport.

000

After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I was on my way to pick up Mikey. He told me was still at Emma's house, no surprise there…

I rolled up and honked my horn. After a moment, Mikey and two women walked out. My eyes widened. Both were gorgeous and… very… let's just say, they were built in all the right places… I figured Emma must be the one holding Mikey's hand. Mikey opened the door for both of them and started to get in the back seat with them.

"No sir, Mikey. Up here." I said pointing to the passenger seat. "No bangy-bang in the back." Both women giggled. Mikey grumbled and sat up front with me. Before he buckled, he pointed to the girls.

"This is Emma…" She looked at me and waved with a smile. I nodded to her.

"…and her best friend, Arlene." Mikey said.

"Nice to meet you." She said with a grin. I nodded and smiled back.

"This is my buddy, James." Mikey said to the girls. I turned back around and gripped the steering wheel.

"Any word from Justin?" I asked Mikey, putting the car into drive.

"Yeah. He got Vic and they're on their way back to his house." Mikey replied.

"Sweet." I said.

000

**-ring ring ring-**

**-ring ring ring-**

I reached into my pocket and looked at my phone. Lisandra was calling. I hesitated to answer… fuck it…

"Hello?"

"Heeeey Jamessss!" Lisandra shouted into my phone. I sighed.

"Sup girl?"

"What'cha doin?"

"I'm just heading over to a buddy's house for a party."

"Awesome! Did Justin tell you to pick me up?"

I pulled my phone away and looked at it, confused.

"I can't say he did… I didn't know you were supposed to come…" I said hesitantly.

"YESSS! PICK ME UP!" She shouted. I sighed and shook my head.

"Okay, be there in a few." I replied.

"K! BYEEE!" She said before hanging up. I laid my phone down in the center console of my car.

"Detour?" Mikey asked. I nodded. "Oh boy…" he said.

000

We pulled up to Lisandra's house, the only two-story house in the neighborhood. Her family was rather well off with money. She came running outside to my car as soon as we arrived. She reached for the front passenger door, but saw Mikey. She looked to the back and saw Emma and Arlene in the back, then looked at me.

"Get in the back, Mikey…" I sighed. Mikey jumped up and got in the back next to Emma, a little too fast. Lisandra sat next to me in the front.

"Hey hey!" she said.

"Hey Sandra." I replied. "That's Emma, Mikey's girl, and Arlene, her bestie." I said, pointing to the back. Lisandra waved at the two, who waved back.

"Can you change the music? I hate metal." Sandra said.

"Nope. My car, my rules. I want metal, so metal it is." I said. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sandra's hand reach for the radio. I swiftly grabbed her wrist and shook my head.

"You would change it if Kiley told you to." She teased. I slowly turned my head to her and glared at her. She had a smirk across her face.

"OH SHIT! Shots fired at James!" Mikey laughed. I glared back at him and let go of Lisandra's wrist.

"Come on, let's go!" Sandra shouted. I shook my head, put the car in drive and headed to Justin's house.

000

It was about 7 o'clock by the time we made it to Justin's house. Everyone was already there, since we had to make the extra stop for Lisandra. I popped the truck of my car and we got our equipment out and headed up to the garage. The door opened and Justin was there to greet us.

"Heyyy, bout time you fuckers showed up. Get your asses in here." Justin said, smiling. We all walked inside the garage-turned-game-room. It was air conditioned, nice carpeting and plenty of room. TVs lined the walls. All of them were at least 48 inch flat-screens.

"Hey James!" I turned to see EJ and Ashley walking my way.

"Hey guys! Long time no see." I said. I gave them both a hug.

"Hey dude!" Vic shouted.

"Sup Vic. How ya doin, bud?" I said, fist-bumping him.

"Doing alright. Can't complain. Good to be back." He replied.

"You bring the booze?" Justin asked. We walked out to my car and I pulled out a cooler. We both had to cart it into the garage. We sat it near the fridge. Justin opened it up and his eyes brightened.

"Vodka, whiskey, rum and everything! Holy shit, where did you get this?" Justin exclaimed.

"I know the guy at the liquor store." I said with a smirk.

"nnnnnnnNICE!" Justin exclaimed.

I turned to everyone and shouted, "Who's ready to party!?"

The room erupted with cheers and laughter. Everyone ran and grabbed some drinks and food. We all went to our stations and loaded our games up. A night of drunken multiplayer madness… HERE WE COME!

000

A few hours later, everyone was wasted. Kiley and Amy were laughing at everything and nothing. They would kill another player and laugh uncontrollably. EJ and Ashley were having a sibling rivalry, seeing who could kill the most before passing out. Mikey was just about to lose what was left of his mind as he watched Emma and Arlene passionately making out. Lisandra was passed out on a couch. Justin, Vic and I were just talking about life in general and watching the ongoing chaos. We weren't as drunk as everyone else.

"See J_**-hic-**_James. Emma is a slut." Justin muttered. I was too busy watching the two to care what he was saying.

"Five bucks says they do it, right here." Vic said, leaning over to me.

"I doubt it would get that far, Vic. But I ain't complainin." I replied.

"Didn't you bring heavier stuff?" Justin asked. I got up and slightly stumbled over to the cooler and dug down near the bottom of the ice. I grabbed a bottle of some strong liquor. About twice the strength of whiskey.

"Gentlemen. I present… Knock-Out." I said, showing them the bottle.

"Knock-Out?" Vic asked.

"Yeah. Couple shots of this and you'll be knocked the fuck out." I replied.

"Hell yeah! Let's go!" Justin shouted.

I grabbed three shot glasses and handed one to each of us. I opened the bottle and poured it into the glass. We raised our glasses and drank. Vic doubled over, coughing.

"Too strong, big guy?" Justin teased, patting Vic on the back.

"More." Vic replied, setting his glass down on the counter. I poured another round and we repeated. Vic put his glass down and laid his head on the counter.

"Ah, fuck me… I don't feel so…"

**-THUD-**

Vic was out like a light. Justin and I looked down at Vic, then back at each other, shrugged, poured another round and drank. As soon as Justin's glass hit the counter, he hit the floor.

"Well… I guess I win then…" I said to myself in a drunken haze. I looked around to see everyone else was out too.

"I guess I better join them." I said to myself, pouring another drink. I raised my glass to the quiet room and took the shot. I sat the glass down and laid down on the ground. After a moment, I blacked out.

000

I was sound asleep, dreaming of playing games and playing with everyone. I kept hearing a persistent noise through my dream. It sounded a lot like some kind of alarm. But I kept on dreaming. The only thing that broke me from my slumber was a pounding headache.

I raised myself up, still laying where I was the previous night. I looked at my watch, which read 12:00 pm. I picked myself off the floor and walked to get some water, but I still heard the noise, a distant alarm.

Annoyed, I walked over to the smaller door of the garage and put my hand on the knob. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and turned the handle, opening the door. I slowly opened my eyes to the sight of what was making the noise. A car... that had smashed into a tree… There was another, on fire... just down the road. I franticly slammed the door. Was I still dreaming? I couldn't be… I ran to the big, sliding door and pushed it open. There were houses on fire; cars filled the streets with no one in them. There wasn't a single person in sight. I looked to see our cars still intact.

"Hey! Shut that fuckin door, eh? Can't you see where tryin to… sleep?" Justin shouted. He walked up next to me, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Guys. Can you please close the…" I heard Kiley walking up behind me. She stood next to me, her eyes widening at the horror that lay before us all.

Pretty soon, everyone woke up and stood, staring out into the empty streets in front of us. Our jaws practically on the ground.

"Did someone spike the drinks with LSD?" Mikey asked.

"I'm pretty sure this is all real…" EJ replied. His sister, Ashley, held onto his arm.

I walked out to my car. I fumbled for my keys and opened the trunk. Underneath the mat was my 9mm pistol. I grabbed it and walked back to the group. Emma and Arlene gave me a startled look. I don't blame them. I noticed Emma look up and point out to the open area.

"Hey look! There's someone." She said. I turned and looked to see a lone figure, slowly walking down the street.

"Wait here." I said to everyone. I made sure my gun was loaded and walked down the road to the person.

"Sir? Can you tell me what happened?" I asked, from a distance. I began to approach more since he would not answer. "Sir?"

I walked up behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. He spun around to face me. I was horrified. The whole front of his body was badly burned, so far that his skin was near black and rotted. His face almost had no skin on it at all. He reached out to me with rotting hands and growled at me. I fell back on the concrete road, pushing myself back as he stumbled towards me. I regained my footing and pointed the gun at his head.

"Stay back! Stay the fuck back or I WILL shoot!" I shouted. The man kept walking closer. I kept trying to walk back as he approached, but despite the fact he had a gun pointed at his head, he didn't listen.

"I'm warning you!" I shouted one last time. He growled at me again coming closer.

**-BANG-**

I shot him. There was a single bullet hole in his forehead. He fell to the ground and didn't move. I lowered my gun, breathing heavily. I turned to face the group, all looked as shocked as I did. I made my way back over to them and stood silently, looking back to where the 'thing' was.

"What happened?" Justin asked.

I turned and looked at him, "We've gone to hell…"

**[Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my zombie survival/horror story. Sorry for the long wait. Been busy with life in general. I hope to be able to post more often in the coming days. Look forward to the next chapter. Shit just got real, yall!]**


	2. From Bad To Worse

**Chapter 2**

**From Bad To Worse**

"Are you saying that… that 'thing' was a…" Justin said hesitantly.

"A fuckin zombie?" EJ finished. I nodded my head slowly.

"There was no way a human could still be alive and have 'that' much damage done to him. Even if he was alive, he would be unconscious from the trauma." I replied.

We all stood in the doorway of the garage, not knowing what to do. Emma held tightly onto Mikey's arm, burying her face into his shoulder.

"We need to get home and gather supplies. We'll meet at my parent's house out in the country. If… whatever-this-is has spread, we'll be better able to defend ourselves out there. It's quiet and secluded. Not to mention we'll have room to build defenses." I said to everyone.

I noticed Emma lift her face from Mikey's shoulder to look over to me. I watched as her gaze went passed me. Her eyes widened slowly. Her breathing became faster and heavier. Mikey looked to her with a concerned look on his face.

"Babe, what is it." He asked. He looked to where she was pointing and got the same look on his face.

I turned to look behind me. Zombies…everywhere…coming out of houses, cars… everywhere…

"Oh… fuck… me…" Kiley softly said to herself.

"The sound of the gunshot must've attracted them." Vic said.

"Everyone go! Stick to the plan! Meet out at my parent's place. We'll go from there. Gather what you need and go!" I shouted. We all sprinted to our cars and drove off in different directions.

"_What the fuck is going on? How hard did we party last night? Is this a dream? Or are we living in a hellish nightmare? It doesn't matter now… I have to get home…"_

000

I drove down the empty streets of the downtown district. No pun intended, but it was dead. Parking lots were full of broken and smashed cars. Windows were shattered on buildings. Some places were on fire, still.

Every-now-and-then I'd see one of those zombies, slowly shuffling down the road. I avoided them the best I could, my car wouldn't be able to handle a full on collision with one of those fuckers.

As I was driving, I heard gunshots. I parked in the road to see a person running from a small hoard of zombies. All I could do was sit and stare. He turned around to fire into the crowd, but they kept coming. I wanted to help… but it would be no use…

He kept shooting into the crowd. He fired frantically, wasting ammo with each shot. He fired his last round into the crowd. The man fooled with the gun until the magazine was out.

By the time he managed to get the gun loaded again, it was too late. The hoard overwhelmed him and took him to the ground. I closed my eyes and turned my head as I could hear the sound of his screams. I pressed down on the gas pedal on kept driving…

000

After the long drive, I pulled into the driveway that lead to my parent's house. The gate was smashed open, not a good sign. I slowly drove down the gravel road. At the end of the road, stood my parent's house. It seemed to be in still good condition. I parked my car in the front and got out. I pulled my gun out and walked up the stairs of the porch to the front door. The screen door was unlocked, and so was the front door.

"_Odd… but not good…"_

I slowly made my way inside. I didn't like what I saw. The walls had blood splatter and bullet holes in them. Some of the furniture was scattered around the room, also covered in blood. A dead zombie lay on the floor outside the bedroom.

I started to grab the handle, but I heard a noise. I pressed my ear against the door. I couldn't make out exactly what it was, but I had a feeling it was another zombie. I turned the handle and let the door sling open.

A zombie lay on top of a body, eating away at the insides of whoever it was. I couldn't see who the two were, but the zombie was about to get a bullet through its rotting skull.

"Hey! I'm over here you sonofa bitch!" I shouted to the undead creature, pointing my gun to its head. Its head slowly raised up and turned to face me. It still had intestine in its mouth.

I studied the face of it for a brief moment. As it stood up, I felt all the strength in my arm give way as tears began to well up inside me. It was my father… and the half-eaten corpse… my mother…

"No… No!" I screamed, walking backwards away from my dad. He slowly shuffled towards me.

"Dad! It's me! No…please…" I cried. His arm stretched out to me. I wanted to hold his hand again, but he was dead. That was a zombie… not my dad…

I raised my gun up to his head as I walked back. I hesitated to shoot… I didn't want to… but I had to.

As I was about to shoot, I tripped and fell over the zombie on the ground. My zombified father fell on top of me. I lost hold of my gun to keep him away from me. His teeth kept snapping at me, trying to get a bite.

I wrestled for a moment and managed to toss him over me. I rolled and grabbed my gun. My father tried to stand, flailing on the ground trying to get up. His eyes looked up and me.

"I'm sorry… I love you…" I said.

**-Bang-**

My father's body moved no more. I lost all feeling in my legs and collapsed to the floor. I leaned against the wall and buried my face in my hands. I have never cried this hard before. I was alone… my parents are dead… I wanted to end it all…

**-Ring Ring-**

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. It was my brother, Austin calling me. I slowly hit the answer button and put it to my ear.

"Hello?.."

"Bro, you ok? It's Austin"

"Yeah… I'm alive to say the least."

"Thank God. Where are you?" I'm at mom and dad's. Meet me our here."

"Where's mom and dad?"

I felt bile rise in my throat and tears well up. I took a deep breath and answered.

"Just meet me out here."

"What do mean? What's going on?!"

"Just hurry out here. All will be explained."

"Alright. I'll be there shortly. It'll be 'bout an hour."

"Ok, I'll see ya then."

"See ya bro."

I hung up the phone and dropped it on the ground next to me. I tightly held my gun in my hands and just lowered my head, staring at the ground.

000

After a while, I heard a car pull up. The door slammed shut and I heard footsteps coming up the porch. The door flew open. Justin, Kiley and Vic all stepped inside, all having backpacks and cases full of supplies and gear.

"James!" Justin shouted. The group ran over to me. Kiley knelt down beside me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"You ok?" she asked me. I slowly raised my head to her and looked her dead in the eyes. Her face went blank. She looked to the freshly killed zombie on the hallway where I sat and then to then half-eaten corpse in the bedroom. Then she looked back to me.

"Was that your?..." she asked hesitantly. I merely nodded my head.

"Oh… I'm… I'm so sorry…" she said. I lowered my head and stared at the ground. We all stood around in silence.

"The rest of the group should be here soon." Vic said, trying to break the silence. I nodded, still not having the strength to answer.

000

Sometime later, I gathered enough strength to stand up. I dug two graves in the backyard and lay my parents' bodies inside. Easily, this was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

By now, Mikey and the rest had gotten to the house. Austin was the only one not here.

I had just finished with the last covering of the graves and stuck the shovel in the ground. I rested both hands on the handle and my chin on top of them. I fought hard to keep the tears back.

As I stood there, I heard a car pull up from the front of the house. I heard footsteps coming around the house. I turned to see my brother standing there. He started to walk towards me, but I saw his eyes glance behind me to the fresh graves. His gaze turned back to me. I nodded my head and his expression went blank.

Austin made his way over to the graves. He knelt down and put his face in his hand. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Were they already dead?" he asked. I hesitated to answer, almost choking on my own words.

"I'd rather not think of that…" I answered. Austin nodded slowly.

"Did you have to…?" he asked, looking up at me. I couldn't answer. I just turned my head, looking away.

Austin stood up and put his hand on my shoulder. I turned back to face him. My eyes were red with tears. I hugged my brother. He was the only family I had left now.

I pulled him away, putting my hands on his shoulders.

"We're making it out of this. I gotta protect my little bro." I said.

"Shut he fuck up. You aint that much older." Austin replied, half-grinning. I gave a light punch to his shoulder.

"That's beside the point. It's my job to keep you all safe." I replied. "Let's get inside. It's getting dark.

We made our way back to the front door and walked back inside. As I opened the door, I heard Emma's voice come from my parents' room.

"Mikey babe, how do you open this safe?"

Austin and I froze in place. We took a quick glance at each other and bolted for the bedroom. Emma was jerking on the handle, trying to open it.

"Don't touch that fucking safe!" we yelled in unison. Emma jumped about ten feet back away from us.

"That's all the ammo we have. We gotta conserve until we get more." I said. Austin looked over to Mikey.

"What the fuck you doin here?" bro asked. I sighed in frustration.

"Can you two please put your differences aside for right now?" I asked, looking at Austin over my shoulder. "We have to survive right now."

Brother looked to Mikey and pointed at him. "Fine, but if a zombie is busy gnawing on your sorry ass, don't expect me to help you." Austin stormed out of the room. I heard his room slam shut down the hall.

"Everyone out." I said, motioning towards the doorway. Emma and Mikey walked out. I closed the door and walked out with them.

"We need to get some sleep everyone. We gotta get an early start in the morning. The house needs to be boarded up, fences need to have barbed wire, and there's plenty more to do." I said to everyone. "Now I know space is tight, but find a spot and get comfy.

I walked to my room to change into my PJs. I laid down on my bed. I stared at the ceiling for what seemed like forever…

"_My parents are dead… My brother is all I have left... Are we really gonna die? What are we going to do?"_

As I was trying to fall asleep, I heard a knock at my door. I grunted and got up. I walked over and opened the door. Kiley and Amy stood outside.

"Hey, um… you got anywhere extra to sleep in here?" Kiley asked hesitantly. I lowered my head and sighed. I walked back to my bed, grabbed my pillow and blanket and tossed it on the floor.

"Yall can have the bed, I'll be here." I said, sitting on the floor.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked. I nodded slowly. The girls walked in and closed the door. I had a king size bed, so they had room. Amy got on the far side, by the wall and Kiley got on the edge, closer to the door.

"You sure this is ok?" Kiley asked.

"Yep." I replied, laying on my back.

"You ok laying there?" she asked again.

"Nope." I said again, closing my eyes.

"Goodnight James." Kiley said.

"Night Kiley, Night Amy." I replied.

"Goodnight." Amy said.

"_Fucking Hell… Sharing my house with a load of friends during the zombie apocalypse… what more could happen?"_

**(Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The middle was REALLY hard for me to write as I am very close to my parents. It took quite a while to write. But I hope you guys get a good emotional kick out of it. Look forward to the next chapter. The gang goes out to look for supplies and James might get into a little bit of trouble. You'll have to wait and see!)**


	3. Jackpot

**Chapter 3**

**Jackpot**

"Mikey! I swear to fucking God, if you both don't shut the fuck up, you're dead!" Austin shouted down the hall.

I rose up off the floor, rubbing my eyes. I heard pounding on a wall, coming down the hall.

"Mikey! Last chance shithead!" Austin shouted again.

"_Oh fuck…"_

I jumped up, swung my door open and ran down the hall. Austin and Justin were standing at the doorway to the guest room.

"What the hell is up with the noise?!" I question, still rubbing my eyes.

"Listen…" Austin harshly whispered.

I put my eye to the door. I could hear Emma's voice coming from the other side.

"Oh Mikey… **–moan-** Uh-huh… YES!"

I jumped back from the door in disgust. I turned back to my brother, his face fuming with rage. I pointed to the door, my mouth wide open in disbelief. Austin nodded, his fist balled up.

"I'll fix this. He'll stop one way or another." I said. "Stand back."

Austin and Justin took a step back. I stepped back, and gave a swift front kick to the door. It flew off its hinges and landed inside the room. We all looked in to see Emma on top of Mikey, riding him.

"Mikey, what the fuck!?" Justin shouted. "We have better things to do than…"

Austin bolted into the room. Emma jumped off Mikey and over to the other side of the bed. Austin grabbed Mikey, and tossed him clean off the bed and onto the floor. Before he could stand up, Austin gave him a hard left hook to the jaw. Mikey collapsed on the floor…with…no pants…

"Fuck you, you fuckin bitch!" Austin shouted at Mikey's limp body on the ground. He turned to glare at Emma, who was cowering under the bed sheets in the floor. Austin stormed out of the room and went down the hall. I heard his door slam shut.

I looked to Emma and pointed to Mikey.

"Dress him when he wakes up." I said. I turned and walked towards the kitchen to find food. Justin followed.

"Damn, your brother seems kind of tense, eh?" Justin asked. I pulled two cereal snack bars out of the pantry.

"Can you blame him?" I asked. I tossed one of the bars to Justin. "Our parents are dead, and he found someone he hates havin' sex in his own house. How would you feel?" I said, chomping down on my food.

Justin shrugged. "I don't know. I guess if the chick was hot enough, I get rid of the guy and start bangin' her instead." He said with a smirk.

"YOU would ya fuckin Italian." I said, punching him on the shoulder. Justin replied with a chuckle.

I made my way back to my room. I turned the handle and pushed it open…or at least tried to. I fell into the door face-first. It was locked.

"_The fuck…?"_

I wondered how my door locked itself.

"Who is it?"

I heard Kiley ask from inside. I rolled my eyes.

"It's me! Lemme in" I said, giggling the handle.

"The door is locked James. We're changing" Kiley replied.

"Really? In my room of all places?! We have bathrooms!" I shouted.

"Well, we didn't know how long you would be.' Amy said.

"Fuckin great…" I muttered.

"We'll be done in a minute." Kiley said.

"_Hmph… Women…"_

000

After everyone was dressed, and Mikey was woken back up, we all met outside. We all had some guns and gear ready with us.

"Alright everyone, pay attention. We gotta get this place secured. Being out here in the middle of nowhere is going to be our best defense." I shouted. "We need to split into several groups. We need one for home defense, one for food runs, another for supplies, and one more for weapons. We need to split up, scavenge for a set amount of time and return back. We'll repeat the next day."

"Who's goin' where and doin' what?" Austin asked, a cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth.

"Bro, you stay here. Kiley, Amy, and Lisandra. You all stay too." I said. "Board up the house and do what you can to make this place safer."

"Great, we have to fucking babysit…" Kiley huffed, her arms crossed and rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sandra asked.

"Enough!" I shouted. "EJ, Ashley and Alrene. I want you guys to raid as many food places you can. I don't care if it's a grocery store, a fast food joint, or a hotdog stand." They all nodded in agreement.

"Vic. I need you, Mikey and… -**sigh- **Emma to go find supplies. We need gas, building supplies, anything useful you can find." I said to the three of them.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you babe." Mikey said, putting his arm around Emma's waist.

"Shut the fuck up shithead…" Austin growled. I shook my head.

"I would tell you two to get a room, but look how that ended." Kiley retorted.

"People, put your shit to the side for now. FUCK!..." I yelled. "Justin, Eric and I will look for guns. We'll bring back any ammo and weapons we find, even if we ain't got any bullets." I said.

"Fuck yeah!" Justin shouted. "Gun run!"

"Cool it shorty." Eric said, smacking Justin in the back of the head.

"Ah, fuck off…" Justin replied.

"You have your instructions, let's get to work. Move out!" I said.

Justin and Eric followed me to my car. We all got in and buckled up. I started the car and started to head off towards town. The others followed in their vehicles as well.

000

We all drove with each other for some time. By the time we arrived in town, we all split off. I grabbed the radio from the center of my car and held it to my mouth.

"Can you all hear me loud and clear?" I asked.

Silence filled the air for a brief moment, then static came through.

"Roger. Loud and clear." Vic said.

"We hear you guys." EJ replied.

"We can hear you at home base too." Kiley said.

"Good, we'll use these to keep in touch. I doubt phones work much now. If you find any extra vehicles, either syphon the gas or take the whole damn car." I said.

"We will." Vic replied.

"Ok. Meet back at the highway in one hour. Keep each other posted." I said

"Gotcha." EJ replied.

I hung the mouth piece up and continued to the gun shop I knew about.

"Isn't it unfair for you to have all the guns, James?" Justin asked.

"These are MINE. As in, I OWN them." I replied. I was a bit overpowered. I had my 9mm Berretta on my right leg, my .357 Magnum revolver under my left arm in a shoulder holster, a sword on my back and a sawed-off lever-action shotgun on my left leg. But hey, at least that means I'm prepared.

"Well, hopefully we'll find some good shit…" Eric said, holding onto his AR15 rifle.

"Hopefully…" I said. "There's the shop. Let's see what we can find."

"Let's hope it's not picked clean…" Justin replied.

I pulled the car up next to the front door. We all got out and started to make our way in. I pulled my 9mm out and held it at the ready. I turned and nodded to Justin and Eric, they nodded back. I walked up to the door and eased it open.

All the lights were off. Some of the cases were busted open and empty gun racks were exposed.

"Search the place guys. Make sure we're alone." I whispered over my shoulder. Eric looked around the shop and Justin looked in the back rooms.

I went around the counter to see if there was anything of use. I pecked at the register to see if I could open it. I banged it around a couple times and nothing happened. I found a piece of metal and tried prying it open. That worked.

Money was still in there. I started stuffing it in my pockets.

"You think that has any worth now?" Eric asked, walking back into the main room, his gun over his shoulder.

"Better safe than sorry, right?" I asked. He nodded

"We're all good back here James." Justin said, joining us. I nodded to him. Looking through the register, I found a key card. I picked it up and examined it. I looked to the display cases to see if it would work, but no card slot.

I looked around and found a small slot for a card under the counter, out of plain view. I slide the card in and back out. There was a quick beep sound made. Suddenly, I felt the floor shake underneath me. I jumped back to see some of the wood flooring slide away and disappear. A steel staircase was revealed and let into a dark room.

I motioned for Eric and Justin and we made our way down, guns ready. We made it in the small room, but we were surrounded in darkness. I felt the walls and found a switch. I flipped it up and got ready for anything.

The whir of electricity sounded. Lights inside the room flickered and then brightened. The room lit up brightly.

"Jack-fucking-pot" Justin said in astonishment.

We found a hidden storage room, underneath the store. There were rows of rifles, shotguns, pistols, even some grenades. There were cases upon cases of ammo. More than we could ever need.

"Eric, call everyone on the radio and let them know… My car can't carry all this…" I said, my jaw practically on the ground.

000

"I think that's the last case." EJ said, putting a giant case of ammo in his car.

"Good job everyone. I think the weapon situation is good for now. Just don't go killing every zombie you see." I said.

"Dammit…" Justin mumbled, kicking the gravel.

"You'll get your chance soon, shorty." Vic said. Justin only grumbled more.

I turned to Mikey, who was ,surprisingly, standing by himself.

"Where's Emma?" I asked.

"Oh! She cut her ankle pretty bad. I patched her up best I could. She's in the truck." Mikey replied.

I looked to her direction. "Well, we'll get Amy to look at it anyway." I said. "Let's head home people. Time to hurry back home."

We made it back to our vehicles and got ready to go. Suddenly, static started coming through my radio. I turned the knob to adjust it and tried to make it clearer. A female voice came through.

"Help me! I'm trapped… Liberty…Hospi…wards…ple…save me!"

I looked to Justin.

"Sounds like a distress signal coming from the wards of Liberty Hospital." Justin said.

I thought to myself for a moment.

"Justin. You and Eric go with the others, I'll handle this myself." I said.

"No way you're going by yourself!" Eric shouted.

"Just do as I say. I'll take a look and be right back. If I'm not back or you don't hear from me in an hour, come looking." I replied.

Eric huffed. "Alright."

They both got in the others vehicles and headed back home. I made my way to the hospital.

000

I pulled up and parked at the front door. I got out and pulled out my 9mm.

"_Could be a trap… but let's just see anyway… I may find medical stuff here…"_

I made my way inside the hospital. The whole place was quiet, too quiet. I hated the silence. I walked down the desolate halls, blood splattered on the floor and walls here and there. It was quite a sickening sight.

"HELP MEEE!"

I heard the same female voice coming down the hall. It was faint, but I knew about where she was. I ran in the direction of her screams.

"HELP MEEE! PLEEEEASE!"

"Where are you!?" I shouted.

"PLEASE HELP!"

I ran and the cries got louder with each step. I heard her crying from inside one room. I kicked the door in and stepped inside. I pointed my gun around and turned on my flashlight.

"HELP MEEE!"

I shined my light into a corner. There she was, curled up in a bloody ball in the back most corner of the room.

"I'm here to recue you ma'am. Don't be afraid." I assured, walking towards her.

"HELP MEEE!" she screamed.

"No need to shout I'm here." I said again.

I noticed a small object on the floor next to her. It was a recorder. I shined my light on it. It was connected to a speaker on playback.

"_What the fuck..?"_

I reached down and lifted her head to see who she was.

As I lifted her head, her screams echoed through the speaker again. He face was sewn shut… her eye sockets and mouth… stitched closed…

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" I screamed, jumping back.

Before I could run, I heard a set of very heavy footsteps coming up behind me. I turned to see a giant silhouette of a man. He was huge.

Before I could react, he clubbed me on the head. I fell to the ground and blacked out. The last thing I remember…was him dragging me by my legs… down a bloody hallway…

**[Uh-oh… James is in some deep shit now people. What was the purpose of the playback message? Who is the giant man? Will Mikey keep his dick in his pants? Who knows! Find out what happens next time in – "The Butcher's Lair" dun-dun-duuuuuuuun]**


	4. The Butcher's Lair

**Chapter 4**

**The Butcher's Lair**

I woke up some time later. I had no idea how long I had been out. I just knew my head was pounding. The pain wasn't what awoke me. It was the smell… The smell of… what seemed to be… rotting flesh…

I opened my eyes. I looked around to see where I was. I was in a dimly lit room, with only a single bulb lighting it. I looked up, and saw the ground. Looking down, towards my feet, I was tied at the ankles and hanging from a… meat hook? I noticed… I was in a room full of dead bodies, hanging in the same manner I was…

"_W-what the fuck is this place?..."_

A noise startled me. I looked to my right to see the same huge figure. He was at a table, chopping something. It was too dark to make out what it was. I hung there, watching him, silently. He finally pulled away from the table. He dragged something along the ground into another room that was well lit. It was… a torso… a severed torso of a human being… I felt vomit rising in my throat, but I fought it back. I couldn't let him know I was awake, or I might be next.

He tossed the torso onto another table in the center of the room. He pulled up knives and started cutting away at it. I was getting sicker by the minute…

"_Fuck this... I gotta get out'a here…"_

I looked to notice bowie knife, stuck inside one of the other hanging corpses. My mind began to race. I had to be quick…

I started trying to swing, back and forth. I reached for the knife every time I got forward momentum. After a few swings, I grabbed it and yanked it out. I began frantically cutting the rope around my ankles. I looked to see if the "butcher" was still there… he was nowhere to be found…

I cut the last strand and landed on the steel-grated floor. I moved out of the light and into the shadows for a brief moment. I hid just in time; the figure came back into the lit room in front of me. He was huge… covered in blood and wore a black hood that covered his whole face. I watched him cut more into the torso.

"_What kind of sick fuck must you be?!"_

I looked past him to notice a key ring, lying on the table. I had a gut feeling I may need those… After a minute, he walked back into the back room, out of sight. I had to make my move. I sneaked over and snatched the keys of the table, trying not to make noise. I didn't wanna look at the torso on the table, I was sick enough as it is…

I snuck back into the dim room and looked for the door. In the back corner, stood a large steel door. The kind you would see at an asylum. It was mostly door, but with a small sliding peephole near the top.

I quickly wrestled with the keys trying to figure out which key fit. The last key on the ring unlocked it. I held onto the key ring. Then I realized, my gear was gone…

"_Fuck… better hold on to the knife…"_

I pushed the door open and walked outside. I scanned outside the door; a hallway. I pushed the door shut again and continued to walk down the long, bloodstained hall. There were no more doors, just the one I came from. I hurried, as I would have nowhere to hide here if he came looking for me.

At the end of the hall was a staircase. I slowly walked up them, as they made a lot of noise. At the top was a turn. I looked around the corner to see another short hallway, with a door at the end. I made my way to the door. As I got close, I tripped over a wire… then a bell began to ring…

"_An alarm!? REALLY!?"_

Then… I heard it… The sound that has frightened me since I was a child… I ran for the door and burst through. As I looked back through the door, he stood at the corner…holding a chainsaw… staring right at me… I could not see his face, but I knew his eyes were locked onto me. I shook from the fear as he started running to me. I slammed the door shut and bolted away. At the end of the hall, another door.

"_Fuck!"_

I used my weight and momentum to slam through it. But the roar of the engine got closer by the second. I slammed the door behind me and ran more. The hall was dark, but I kept running. I saw a small light at the end of the hall. It was coming from a peephole in another door. I heard him smash through the last door behind me. I sprinted towards the door and hit it hard, but no budge. I jiggled the handle…locked…

I turned to face the being chasing me. He stood at the end of the hall where I just came from. He walked over to the wall and pressed a button. A giant metal gate came from the ceiling and slammed onto the ground just a few feet in front of him, separating us. Suddenly, lights flooded the area. I was in a room, not a hallway. Spikes jutted from the walls on my left and right. Then they started coming closer.

I turned to the door and fumbled for the key ring. I tried each key until the door finally opened. I watched as the spikes slammed shut and blocked out the room. I stood there catching my breath.

Then the walls began to open again. I saw the gate rise back up into the ceiling and saw him ready to make his way to me. I turned again and ran. I was some kind of office or storage area. I took the first room I could find and ducked in there. I knew he would look her first, but I had to think quickly. I burst through the door and shut it. I scanned the room; boxes were everywhere and lockers lined one of the walls. I took my chances with the lockers. I ran up to one, opened it up and hid inside, shutting the door.

Just as I shut it, I saw him bust through the first door, through a window in the room I was in. He walked ominously towards the door leading to me. The buzz came closer each second. Suddenly, the door flew open. He came inside, swinging the chainsaw wildly. He probably expected to find me in the open. He walked back and forth, chopping up boxes inside the room. He looked in the first two lockers, but not the last ones, luckily he stopped before he got to me.

I heard a sound come from the next room, behind me, like a glass breaking. He took off towards that area. I waited a moment and listened as the sound drifted away. I peeked out to see he was gone. I looked at a table across from me to see all my gear. I'm surprised he didn't scrap it.

"_Good thing I picked this room."_

I got out of the locker and slowly walked over to the table. Everything was here; my sword, sawed-off, and my pistols. Not to mention all my ammo. I looked over my shoulder to see if he might be coming back, but I heard nothing. I got everything put back on after a moment.

I started to walk away, but then I thought to myself…

"_I can walk away now, and never worry about this hellhole again…but this fucker may still be around and kill other innocent survivors… fuck it, he's going down."_

I pulled out my 9mm and walked back to where he went, regretting every step as I went. I peeked through the open doorway, pointing my gun inside. He wasn't anywhere to be found. I walked along, seeing all the bloodstains on the walls. My adrenaline was kicked into high gear, so I felt no nausea.

I checked several rooms, but I couldn't find him. Nor could I hear the sound of the engine. I gave up the search, it wasn't worth my time. I opened the door leading to the hallway and began to look for an exit.

As soon as I shut the door, the sound came from behind as I saw him pulling the cord. I lifted my hand and tried to shoot. He swung the blade at me. I fell back, firing towards him, but missed. When I hit the ground, my gun felt out of my hand. He got down to me and shoved the spinning blade to my face. I grabbed his arms and held him back. The muscles in my arms tightened as I fought to keep my face from getting shredded. I fought as hard as I could, but he was stronger. I thought quickly just before the blade hit my face. I jerked my head to the side and let his arms go. The saw hit the ground and rocketed out of his grip. Now was my chance.

I punched him hard in the face until he was off of me. I rolled out from under him and stood in between him and his weapon. He stood up and pulled a butcher's knife out of his belt and came after me. He swung for my gut and I jumped out of the way. He slashed again, but I got hit. His knife cut me across the face, but I could feel no pain. There was too much adrenaline in my system to give that kind of fuck.

I kicked him away with a roundhouse to the face, and then I kicked the knife out of his hand. I ran up and punched him in the face again, then in the stomach. I grabbed him by the back of his head and began using my knees on his gut and head. I stepped back and kicked him hard in the gut. He grunted and knelt down in pain. I took a step back again and did a running knee to the side of his head. He was dazed now.

I ran behind him grabbed a hold of his neck with both arms. I tried to twist as hard as I could. I wanted to break his neck. Somehow he stood up with me on him. He grabbed my legs and ran backwards, slamming me against a wall. I lost my grip and fell to the floor.

He got loose from me and ran for the chainsaw. I reached across to my left thigh and pulled out my sawed-off. He grabbed his weapon and started it back up again. He turned around, only to be staring down the barrel of my gun. I gave him a sinister grin.

**-BANG-**

His brains flew down the hallway. I watched as the headless body fell onto the hard floor. He was motionless.

"You will NOT be killing any more innocents, mother fucker."

I twirled the shotgun using the lever-action to reload the next shell inside the chamber and holstered it back onto my thigh. I grabbed my 9mm off the ground and holstered it as well.

000

After a short walk, I found the exit to the hospital. As soon as I walked outside and the fresh air hit me, nausea came over my body. I fell to the ground and vomited. I had never been that sick before. My whole body ached. I looked up to see the torn world around me.

"_How could anyone be that twisted?! How could anyone do that to another human? Why?"_

I picked myself up and made it over to my car. Thankfully, it was untouched. I opened it and sat in the driver seat. I reclined back for a moment. I couldn't stay this way for long.

"James? Are you there? This is Kiley! Are you there James?"

My radio blared away. Kiley was trying to contact me.

"Yeah, I'm here." I replied, still leaned back in my seat.

"Where the hell have you been!? We've been trying for hours to get in contact with you! Did you find the survivor?" Kiley yelled through the other end.

"Let's just say I found more than I bargained for."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me get back to the house, and I'll tell you it all."

"Well…OK, if you say so. We'll be here."

"Roger…"

**[Looks like the world has become a more twisted place now… If the butcher was the first…then could there be more? You never know… Hope you enjoyed this short little "boss fight" chapter. This was heavily inspired by the upcoming game The Evil Within. See you guy in the next chapter. Who know what's in store for our survivors…]**


End file.
